There are, inevitably, some costs associated with the servicing of license agreements in the global content distribution business. Such as…
Videotape Master Duplication
Producers/suppliers must provide us with either NTSC or PAL masters for our Videotape Master Archive (see our Videotape Masters post). We always ask our clients to pay for videotape dubs/clones, but we don’t always win the negotiation on this point. Sometimes they will contribute to the cost but not pay all of it. Therefore, when we must pay for dubs/clones, these costs are then deducted from royalties.
Document Processing
More often than not, there are a variety of international governmental withholding tax forms, consulate certifications, notarized copyright applications, and so on, which we need to complete when shipping masters into another country. We deduct $50 per hour plus fees paid, if any.
Shipping & Customs
Pricing for the international shipping of videotape masters varies depending on destination, weight, shipping method, delivery time, etc. In some cases, clients will now accept quicktime files on small portable hard drives. Fortunately, transcripts, press kits, and music cues sheets are now usually delivered digitally via the internet.
